Golf tee



Nov. 28, 1950 -J. E. RlcKARD GOLF TEE Filed May 1, 1948 @y Hfs Arrow/evs MPP/MECH FUSE/Pd /754/9/5 5 f L/W. W

Patented Nov. 28, 1950 UNITED S'ITES PATENT OFFICE! GOLF TEEi James E.j Rickard, Hollywood-,Edit

Application :May.1,' 1948, Serial No. 2436035."

6 .Claims..

Thisinvention relatesA generally' to y appurte-` nances for playing the gameof golf, zandvhas to do more particularly with golftees.

Oneof the objectsof theinvention is to provide va golftee Whichwill be exceptionally strong;l and ydurableand will be unusually satisfactory` for-the purpose of teeing up agolf ball -on the green so that the ball may be driven in theusual club, the upstanding/ supporting 1 portion being,

however;- su-ricientlyvresistant to lateral` bending movement to support the ball.

Heretofore-it has beenga-coinrnon practice to employ Wooden; golf tees which are leasily shattered when struck with ,amgolfl club and therefore require A a considerablev quantity` of them` to be carried by the player; Attemptshave beenmade toy provide more durable y golf '1 tees but they have alwaysA been-toe bulky; Ior; toov `short, or not suiciently yielding when struck= byfa club,` or have been produced from an excessive nuinberocomparatively uselessp arts.r

A more general fobject o.f A the-present; invention isto provide a golf tee whichovercomes al1 of the mentioned; V,obj ectionable `factors.

Another object of the invention; is;I4 to produce;

a golfA tee Withra very tough; slender,- sufciently yielding rubber shank Whoselower-end isl encased and yfirmly boundin a; socket; disposedj in the upper end voiV al peintedv metalr` spike tapered ona slight enough Vangle-so-that it mayf be; easilyinserted .in-to theea-rth of-thefgolfcourse. It is also an object of the invention pto producesuch aA golfteewherein the spikeis of-adequateplength to maintain the tee Vin upright position, the metal portion.beineidisposedz below`- thez level of the.:

ground" or at the ground, level as its uppermost extremity, another object being to employ a sufficiently strong, upstanding, resilient stem that such stem may be formed with a length adequate to elevate the ball properly. above the green or other portionof the golf course.

Another object `is toprovide a golf tee having a metalvspike to be inserted into the earth and,

aball supporting shankof material sufficiently tough that it vvillnot break when hit by a golf club andV will notptear avvayyfrom-the socket inV 2L. parent to those skilledin tl'xe.art,.,uponv reference-4 totthe followingv speciiication,` and,the accom=. panying drawing. wherein -one Vembodiment of. thec invention. is disclosedz for.. the; purpose.,f ofillus tratiorn In thisdrawing;

invention .prior to assembly; y

Fig, 2is a` verticaltsection, similar toY that ..of. Fig. I .butshovvingthe partsof thefgolf teelin; assembledrelationship ready; f or y. use;

Fig. 3 issan,elevationaliviewofgthe assembledr golf tee inoperative position, agol-f ball being."

supported,` as, indicated., byj brokenA lines in. a

normal playing, position...l

As. illustratedin the .-drawing, theY glplb tee1v apc-l.. cording to this improvement, comprises.allant-vie.V standing rubber shank I0,. thelowerendpf which is securely anchored l-in theupperk portion of ad pointedor graduallytaperedmetal spike I2; 'Ihef` spike I2is initially formed with asocketJ .twhichy is semisphericalat,.the bottomv andyisprOl/ided., thereabove with anupright cylindrical YWallbortion I5. The socket I4.is adapted tov receive ,a spherical lower end I6 of therubbershank III.; the spherical lower, end ltbeingformed on subs.. stantially the same radius; as.v the fsemisspherical socket I4. The Y sphericalv end t I6.: having been. thrust into the socket I 1I,-` the .upperwall .portion I5 is compressed v,above the` sphericall end I'gofUv the shank I0 to fornil acorrespondingvvall por..- tion lapof restricted diametergthatlis, thelexf... terna] diameter of the. restrictedv wallI portion I5JL` isIconsiderably less than theexternalzdiamfeter of the sphericalend IE--of the shank IIL, This results inan annular restriction I8,- betvilehlthe socket portion lilil and the,loyverend ,ofthe restricted wall portion I5 i as viewedv in Eig-. J 2 and in Fig.y 3, so that the spherical end IS isrso positively clamped thatfit cannot be, withdrawn through the restricted. wallv portion .I 5a.

The upper end of the .shank I 0. isprovided with. a somewhat enlarged head ZIlwhich may flare out from Athe body oftheshank I0, as illustrated, andV is` provided on .top .with a ,concavity 22 which constitutes,k a-seat for theggolf ball.v In view of the slendernessof the shank` I0, the head 2li, which is circular inplan-view iseXpanded. toa diameter about twice;tha-diameter ofthe shank IIJ which is'similarly4 circular in cross section. The cup or concavity22 is thusgofadequatedimension tosupport the golf ballas indicatedin Fig. 3.

In using the-f tee'of. this inventionLthe gently` tapered spikeI I2 is.- foreed into the earth, this.,

beingeasily accomplishedby grasping-the top of; therestrictedfwall portion I5a; and pressingthe device into place with the fingers. In the latter portion of the operation, the fingers may, if nec- 3 essary, also grasp the bottom of the shank IB, the forcing being continued until the top edge of the restricted wall portion 15a is approximately flush with the earth. In the form illustrated, the socket portion Id constitutes a bulge of greater external diameter than the external diameter of the restricted wall portion l5a. As a consequence, there is a tendency for the earth to expand back over the top of the bulge and thereby somewhat facilitate the retention of the spike l2 in position in the ground. Proper placing of the spike l2 serves to dispose the shank I0 vertically upward so that the seat provided by the concavity 22 is directed uniformly upward for proper reception of the golf ball which is now in the relative position seen in Fig. 3. As the player drives with his golf club, his stroke may, for example, follow the arrow 25 seen at the right of Fig. 3, the purpose being to come in under the ball. When the club strikes the head 20 on the upper portion of the shank IB, the shank ID flexes to the left somewhat as indicated by the dotted line position. The rubber of which the shank I0 and the head 2B are formed being extremely tough, the blow results merely in such flexing, there being no rupture whatever of the shank t0, either in its main portion or at its Zone of contact with the upper edge of the restricted wall portion I5a. If desired, the inner portion of such edge may be slightly rounded for the purpose of avoiding any tendency which such upper inner edge position might have to cut into the outer wall of the shank I0.

When the ball has been driven, the player grasps the shank I0 and pulls the spike i2 from the earth. This is easily accomplished, and since the spherical lower end I6 of the shank li! is positively and permanently bound in the socket I4 by reason of the configuration indicated, it is impossible for the spherical end l5 to be pulled from its socket. As a consequence, the golf tee may be used over and over, and it may be used a very great number of times before gradual wear will reduce it to a state of untness. Should it be that one of these golf tees is used for a time beyond its normal life so that the shank eventually breaks, it will be most apt to break off at the top of the spike I2 where it engages the upper edge of the constricted wall portion I5@ In this event, the metal spike l2 will remain in the earth below the level of operation of a lawnmower. As a consequence, there will be no damage to lawnmowers, nor will the green be cluttered up with metal pieces.

The rubber employed in producing the shank li! is a very7 tough rubber having suflicient resil- Such a rubber is effective for a shank having a.

diameter of from 3/16 to 1/4 inch and a total length from about 11/4 inches to about 11/ inches, the exposed flexing portion of the shank having a length of about 5A; inch to about '7/8 inch. The head 20 then has a diameter from about 3/8 inch to about 1/2 inch, and the spherical lower end i6 of the shank l] has a diameter of approximately 70 Number 46 inch or adequate to insure permanent retention thereof within the socket i4 as constricted to the closed or clamping position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Ordinarily, the head 20 needs to be from 1/8 inch to 1A; inch in depth at the flange portion to insure good support for the golf ball. Similarly, the restricted wall portion [5a of the spike l2 needs to be from about 1/8 inch to about 1/4 inch in height to insure desirable anchorage for the lower end of the shank l0. The spike I2 may vary from an over-all length of perhaps a little over 1 inch to as little as about 3A inch as deemed desirable, the greater length probably being preferable if greater ease of insertion is desired.

It is, however, intended to protect all such variations of the generic invention as fall within the scope of the claims.

I claim as my invention:

i. A golf tee comprising: a rigid spike having its lower end tapered and adapted to be forced into the earth; a rigid upwardly opening clamping socket carried by the upper end of said spike; an upstanding flexible shank formed of flexible material and having an enlarged lower end projecting into and ttng said socket and lixedly clamped therein against dislcdgment from said socket and against movement in said socket; and a golf ball supporting cup fixedly carried by the upper end of said shank.

2. A golf tee as in claim l wherein said shank and supporting cup are formed from tough rubber offering bending resistance adequate to support a golf ball.

3. A golf tee comprising: a rigid spike having a levier end pointed for forcing into the earth; an upwardly opening, integral ball socket on the upper end of said spike, the upper portions of said socket constituting overlying portions; a yieldable shank of flexible material having at its lower end an integral ball fixedly gripped in said socket against movement therein and held therein by said overlying portions against dislodgement; and a golf ball carrying cup flxedly provided upon the upper end of said shank.

4. A golf tee as in claim 3 wherein the internal diameter of said socket is greater than the diameter of said shank.

5. A golf tee as in claim 4 wherein said shank and carrying cup are of tough rubber adapted to yield without rupture to the blow of a golf club and possessing bending resistance when in upright position sufficient to support said golf ball.

6. A golf tee as in claim 3 wherein said shank and carrying cup are of tough rubber adapted to yield without rupture to the blow of a golf club and possessing bending resistance when in upright position sufficient to support said golf ball.

JAMES E. RICKARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Dalziel Sept. 8, 1896 Lundy Aug. 7, 1928 Shephard Mar. 23, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Apr. 18, 1935 Number Great Britain July 3, 193.5y 

